Expedition," and that I am only charged with its command by
Mr. James Gordon Bennett, the proprietor of the `New York Herald,'
as a salaried employ of that gentleman.

One thing more; I have adopted the narrative form of relating
the story of the search, on account of the greater interest it
appears to possess over the diary form, and I think that in this
manner I avoid the great fault of repetition for which some
travellers have been severely criticised.



CHAPTER II. ZANZIBAR.

On the morning of the 6th January, 1871, we were sailing through
the channel that separates the fruitful island of Zanzibar from
Africa. The high lands of the continent loomed like a lengthening
shadow in the grey of dawn. The island lay on our left, distant
but a mile, coming out of its shroud of foggy folds bit by bit as
the day advanced, until it finally rose clearly into view, as
fair in appearance as the fairest of the gems of creation. It
appeared low, but not flat; there were gentle elevations cropping
hither and yon above the languid but graceful tops of the
cocoa-trees that lined the margin of the island, and there were
depressions visible at agreeable intervals, to indicate where a
cool gloom might be found by those who sought relief from a hot
sun. With the exception of the thin line of sand, over which the
sap-green water rolled itself with a constant murmur and moan, the
island seemed buried under one deep stratum of verdure.